Mentality toward sex and gender
Martin’s article starts by debunking the myth that society has regarding the specifics of the male and female gender. Initially, “The Egg and the Sperm” article corresponds to the idea that society shapes the way scientists and biologists conduct research on the sexes. To start with, scientists tend to research the reproductive organs of the males and the females with already construed perceptions. Most researchers consider that the sperm, being the one that swims to the ovum, is more aggressive and ‘attacks’ the female eggs. In this context, the female egg is depicted as lying in wait for the sperm to get to her. However, modern research disapproves of this context by showcasing that the egg also has a bigger part to play in the fusion for reproduction. The thick lining that the egg prepares is for ‘trapping’ the sperm. Therefore, as equally aggressive as the sperm hastens to get to the egg, the egg hastily prepares her walls to entrap the sperm.
In connection with Helliwell’s article, ‘It’s Only a Penis,’ gender is depicted as a social construct. This view means that one’s sexual orientation is not gendered on his/her genetic composition but on societal activities and roles within the community. According to the members of the tribe, they do not associate gender with sex. Sex in this context refers to the genetic makeup of being male or female. To the Gerai, it is the physical/economic activities that one engages in that classifies the gender orientation. For instance, the Gerai people could have a line of rice cultivators and loggers. Depending on where one stands, that is the identity the community members associate with him/her. They see no difference between the functionalities of the two distinct sexual organs. As such, the community records no instances of rape. When the woman says that ‘It’s only a penis,’ the lady conceptualizes the community’s general view. A body organ, therefore, according to the Gerai, cannot harm an individual. Rapists only react badly to their bodily functionalisms, hence no need to prosecute rapists as, after all, ‘It’s only a penis!!’
These two articles show that Westerners have a socially construed mentality toward sex and gender. It is the society that has empowered the male gender to be aggressive than the female sex, not the genetic composition of the two sexes. Also, the Westerners gender the male and the female body according to the individuals’ genetic makeup. The gendering process’s societal consequence is that the female human species are viewed as weak and naturally submissive to the males. Hence, the high degree of rape cases in the Western world as compared to the rest of the global population. If only people can change this concept of sexual classification and embrace all persons, no matter the sex, as equal, then the world could be a much better place to live!